Pennsbury Invitational Softball Tournament

[JAD]

I know that it is 6+ months away, but if your DD wants to attend a top academic school, has the grades/scores to get in, and wants to play college softball, I HIGHLY recommend the Pennsbury Invitational. I think you can register as an individual or a team.

The minimum requirements include the following: PSAT-175, SAT–1750 or ACT–26 and a GPA of 3.5 or higher. AP and Honors classes will add credibility to an already impressive application. For juniors and seniors, an SAT or ACT score (rather than a PSAT) is strongly preferred.

Welcome to the Pennsbury Invitational Tournament Website

 

[James Smith]

Those minimum requirements are no joke!

 

[29dad]

looks like the website has information about the 2014 tournament but not the 2014 camp. Looking forward to learning more about this. I saw the list of colleges who attended last year. All the Ivy League schools plus a ton of D3 schools with tremendous academic reputations. My fear, though, is that without being able to offer scholarships, we would never be able to afford one of those schools, even if the coach recruited my DD and she was able to get accepted. I have so much to learn about financial aid grants it's not even funny.

 

[3'sDad]

As I posted somewhere, The DD (2015) attended NFCA Academic Camp at Pennsbury this past June as a pitcher and the regular NFCA Recruiting camp the next day for outfield, as she was already done with school. I had to email in her school transcript to verify GPA for the Academic camp; yes they do check.

At the Academic Camp, it appeared the total number of attendees at the camp for the afternoon equalled the number of pitchers at the regular camp the following day. There was 1 YOG 2015 outfielder at the Academic Camp, quite a few at the regular camp.

DD got some great looks from the academic D III's at the Academic camp, who stayed around to see her pitch during the tournament.

Great camp, well run, well worth it.

 

[SoCal_Dad]

looks like the website has information about the 2014 tournament but not the 2014 camp. Looking forward to learning more about this. I saw the list of colleges who attended last year. All the Ivy League schools plus a ton of D3 schools with tremendous academic reputations. My fear, though, is that without being able to offer scholarships, we would never be able to afford one of those schools, even if the coach recruited my DD and she was able to get accepted. I have so much to learn about financial aid grants it's not even funny.

Ivy schools are much more affordable than people realize. They are very generous with their financial aid due to their endowments. Examples based on family's gross income:
- Under $85k: Free
- $85k-170k: $850-17k/year based on sliding scale of 1-10% of gross income.
- Sliding scale continues past that until cost reaches full fees around $250k.

Softball can be a determining factor for getting qualified students admitted.

 

[Greenmonsters]

IMO, if your DD is a student/athlete with good grades and test scores you should never rule out a school because of cost, but don't get your heart set on it either. Talk to a guidance counselor/college adviser or complete a trial FAFSA to see what your EFC (Expected Family Contribution) toward college is. The difference between the EFC and total college cost (Tuition + Room & Board) is a ballpark estimate of what may be covered by federal student loans and school grants (scholarships) for those schools with significant endowments. Some of the top schools accept students without consideration of financial need. And some of these schools satisfy financial need with with grants, which don't need to be repaid like loans.

 

[Indiana]

As I posted somewhere, The DD (2015) attended NFCA Academic Camp at Pennsbury this past June as a pitcher and the regular NFCA Recruiting camp the next day for outfield, as she was already done with school. I had to email in her school transcript to verify GPA for the Academic camp; yes they do check.

.

Had your daughter already taken the PSAT? Around here the PSAT is usually taken during the fall of one's junior year. Should DD look into taking it this year (sophomore) if she wants to apply to the camp?

 

[Greenmonsters]

Good info - thanks. I agree those requirements are pretty serious (man, I certainly never would have made that cut. Maybe the GPA but not the SAT. Am I just older and wiser or has the SAT gotten easier? I took a practice test just to see and did surprisingly well - much better than I did when it mattered!). A friend's son got recruited to Cornell for wrestling. They offered an interesting package - tuition would be capped at 10% of the parent's combined income. I think the endowments and new tradition of tuition discounts have allowed the Ivy's to be very creative in their packages.

Yes, you can add 100-200 points to your old (pre-1994/5 or so I think) SAT scores. If you don't like those numbers, just multiply by 2 and round up.

 

[iMlearning]

psat

That's seems late to take the PSAT. A lot of girls here take it their freshman year. DD just took it her second time (SOPHOMORE).
You don't have to take any of the tests to be considered but you would have to provide a reason for them to consider you.

 

[JAD]

That's seems late to take the PSAT. A lot of girls here take it their freshman year. DD just took it her second time (SOPHOMORE).
You don't have to take any of the tests to be considered but you would have to provide a reason for them to consider you.

I agree with IMlearning....my DD just took the PSAT as a freshman. Juniors and seniors should take the SAT or ACT. You can take both multiple times and only have to "publish" the highest score, so other than the cost and time associated with taking the test, there is no penalty for taking either multiple times. Some students do better on one or the other due to the testing methods, so my suggestion would be to take both at least once. Sometimes a small improvement in a ACT/SAT score can make a BIG difference in the amount of financial aid a school is able to offer.